Safety foot-guard for railway-crossings



J. MALLETT.

SAFETY FOOT GUARD FOR RAILWAY CROSSINGS.

APPLICATION HLED OCT. 27. l9l9.

Patented Feb. 3,1920.

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Application filed Gctoser 27, 1918. Serial No.

To all tit/LOH], it may concern:

Be it known that I, demos lllALLlliVl, a citizen of the United States, residing at St. Louis, in the State of Missonri, have in vented certain new and useful Improvements in iila'fety Foot-Guards for Railway-Grossings, of which the following is a specification containing a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to theaccon1- panying drawings, forminga part hereof.

My invention relates to an in'iproved safety foot-guard for railway crossings, and it consists in the novel construction and combination 01 parts that I have hereinafter particularly described and distinctly elaiined.

The object of my invention is to provide a safety footguard for railway crossings that will prevent the heels of persons shoes using the crossing from being accidentally caught in the space that now exists between the rails of the railway-track and the boards or planks that are used as a footcrossing for persons and animals, and which guard will also close up the said dangerous spa me at all times (exceept when a locomotive or train is passing; along; the rails, at said 'e-nt tl 1e accidental entrance into said space of any part of a persons shoe, toot, hand or clothing accidentally. as well as the entrance arcidentallj-f into said space oi? the feet or shoes of horses and othe animals; whereby the loss of lite and limbs at such crossings will he done away with by .reasoi'i of the abolishinent of said dangerous space between the said rails and the boards or planks of the foot or \"Olllfle crossing of a steam or electric railway.

In the drawings,

Figure l is top plan-view of a portion of railway crossing. having; my invention applied thereto, and

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary vertical transverse section oi? the railway crossing. taken on the line 2-9, of Fig. 1.

lhe numeral 1 designates the ordinary rails of the railway, 2 the outside boards or planks of the cro fno' located as at present close to the head of the rail and flush with the top ol d head 3 the hoards or planks of the cros no; inside of the said rails t the supports tor said hoards or planks 5 the usualv cross-ties of the railway track. arranged to support said rails, parts 4-. and planks 2 and 3t Specification. of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 3, 1920.

Said planks 8 do not extend to said rails l, and in the space between said rails and the edge of the nearest plank 8 I locate any suitable metallic chamber for receiving and protecting one edge of a spring-held guard bar or plate 6, 7.

The said clianiber is designated by the numeral 8, and in the present form of my invention it is made L-shaped in cross-sec tion, and is fitted with a thin metallic cover 9, between which and the underlying base of said chamber 8 the said guard-bar 6 moves toward and from the adjacent rail as it is actuated by the passing car-wheels and locomotive-wheels.

Suitable springs 11 are located in, and protected by, the walls and cover of the said chamber 8., so, as to bear at all times against the inner edge of the said guard-bar 6, and yieldingly hold the latter close to the adjacent head of. the rail 1, and thereby prevent the entrance of a persons shoe-heel or other object into the space between the rail and the said guard-bar.

The edge of said guard-bar that is next to the said rails 1 is provided with a slightlyraised dance 7. and this flange, as well as the ends of said guard-bar, are curved from the rails, in order that the flanges of the car and locomotive wheels will strike said curved portions and force the guard-bars inwardly against the power of said springs, and thereby permit the cars and locomotives to pass without running upon the said guard-bar.

A liter the car-wheels have passed said guard-bars the said springs will act to return. sail bars to their normal and usual position which is as shown, close to the heads of the rails 1.

Suitable screws or other fastenings 10 are used to fasten the said chamber 8 to the said supports 4.

There being nothing to limit the moven'ient of the said guard-bars (i, 7 toward said rails 1 it is evident that the normal position of said hars is in contact with the heads oi said rails, so that dust, dirt, rain and snow will be excluded hy such contact from the space beneath the overhanging outer m": the bars and the adjacent parts of the rails; therehy conducing to certainty of operation at all times, there being no openingthrongh which snow and dirt can enter said space, except during the passage of the locomotive or car Wheels.

I claim:

In combination with a railway-crossing, and the rails and planks thereof, a metallic chamber that is L-shaped in crosssection, a thin metallic cover for said chamber, a series of coiled springs mounted in said chamber beneath said cover, and 1, guard-bar mounted with one of its edges in said chamber and its opposite edge normally held yieldingly in contact with one of the said rails by the 10 said springs. V

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

, JULIUS MALLETT.

Witnesses:

PHILIP A. BABE, JoI-IN C. HIGDON. 

